Childhood Education (QUEST) Grades 1-6 - BA

Applying for Admission

Before Hunter students can declare a School of Education major or minor, they must apply to the School of Education and be accepted. The School of Education application is open to current Hunter students throughout the year, and can be accessed online through the School of Education website. Students interested in an Education program should apply as early as is possible in the semester prior to the one in which they plan to enroll. Transfer students should seek advisement about applying to the School of Education as soon as they have been admitted to Hunter. Transfer students who have a GPA of at least 3.3 may apply to start an Education program in their first term at Hunter.

All applicants must complete an on-site writing test to assess written English skills, as well as participate in a group interview with other students and School of Education faculty members.  Accepted students will declare both an appropriate major in the School of Arts & Sciences, and a major or minor in the School of Education.  

Undergraduate teacher education programs require a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. Candidates for BA/MA programs must also receive approval for graduate-level study by the relevant department in the School of Arts & Sciences. The School of Education does not accept nondegree or second-degree students. Meeting minimum admission requirements does not guarantee entry into the program.

Admissions Requirements

• 30 credits in liberal arts and sciences (Students may apply to QUEST if the total of their completed credits plus credits in which they are currently enrolled is at least 30 credits.)
• Minimum GPA of 3.0.
• Prerequisite for MATH 10400 (STEM): either a score high enough on the CUNY COMPASS to be placed in MATH 10400 (STEM) or completion of MATH 10100.
• ENGL 12000 (or a 200- or 300-level writing course), with a grade of B or better.
• Declaration of an appropriate liberal arts and sciences major.
• Transfer students may enter the program with 40 to 72 credits. (Students with more than 72 credits should complete their liberal arts and sciences major and apply to the master’s degree program in childhood education.)
• Transfer students with 60 or more credits, a GPA of 3.3 or better and a grade of B or better in ENGL 12000 do not have to present Hunter College grades. Transfer students with GPAs below 3.3 will have to complete 12 credits of coursework at Hunter College with a GPA of at least 3.0 before a final decision will be made on their application to the School of Education.

Liberal Arts & Sciences Major Requirement

All students in School of Education programs must also declare a major in the School of Arts & Sciences. This major must lead to a BA degree.

See the School of Arts & Sciences   for more information on major options.

New York State Liberal Arts & Sciences Distribution Requirement

Teachers in elementary schools are required to teach all subject areas in the curriculum and thus need a broad liberal arts background in addition to specialized knowledge of teaching. Therefore, students will be required to complete the following liberal arts and sciences courses, or their equivalent (most of these courses can be taken within the Hunter Core requirements ).

These courses require a grade of C or better.

• ​
  ENGL 12000 - Expository Writing
    
• ENGL 22000 - Introduction to Writing about Literature (W)
    
• GEOG 10100 - People and Their Environment
    
• HIST 15100 - The United States from the Colonial Era to the Civil War (W)
    
• HIST 15200 - The United States from the Civil War Era to the Present (W)
    
• MATH 10400 (STEM) - Mathematics for Elementary Education I
    
• MATH 10500 - Mathematics for Elementary Education II
    
• Two semesters of science, at least one of which is a laboratory science,*
• 6 credits in the arts (courses in ARTCR, ARTH, FILM, MUSHL, THEA)**
• At least 6 credits in the study of a language other than English

 Two additional courses that are required for students in the childhood education program are

• HEDP 31400 - Health Education for the Classroom Teacher
    
• SPED 30800 - Teaching Students with Special Needs in Inclusive Settings
    

Note(s)

* Computer Science does not count as a science course in meeting this requirement.

** Courses in FILMP, MEDIA, and MEDP do not meet the arts requirements.

Academic Progress Standards

Students must meet the following criteria in order to continue in the program:

• Students must maintain a GPA of at least 3.0. 
• Students must receive grades of C or better in required coursework in liberal arts and sciences and in QUEST courses that do not include fieldwork. QUEST fieldwork courses require a grade of B or better. All QUEST courses are repeatable once by students who have received a grade of C-, D+ or D in a non-fieldwork course or a grade below B in a fieldwork course. Students must officially reregister for these courses. Students who receive an F in any course or a D+ or D in fieldwork may not continue in the program.   
• In order to register for QSTA 40600 - Mathematics Teaching and Learning in Elementary School, students must have completed MATH 10400 (STEM) and MATH 10500. With the approval of the program coordinator, transfer students may be allowed to enroll in QSTA 40600 after completing MATH 10400 (STEM) and registering for MATH 10500 if their progress through the QUEST program would be delayed by the requirement for MATH 105 as a prerequisite.
• In order to register for QSTA 41400 - Teaching Science in Elementary Schools, students must have completed two courses in science, at least one of which must be a laboratory science.
• In order to register for QSTA 41200 - Teaching Social Studies through Literature, the Arts, and Technology in Elementary Schools, students must have completed HIST 15100 and HIST 15200, or one of these courses plus GEOG 10100.
• Take and pass both the Educating All Students test (EAS) and the appropriate Content Specialty Test (CST) of the New York State Teacher Certification Exams prior to student teaching.
• Complete at least 21 credits in an approved Arts & Sciences major before student teaching.

Course of Study

Change in Course Prefixes

Please note that HED is renamed HEDP, and effective spring 2018 QSTA and QSTAB are renamed QSTAP and QSTP to identify them as professional courses rather than ones in the liberal arts.​

School of Education Exit Standards

Students must meet the following criteria in order to graduate with a School of Education major or minor:

• Have an overall GPA of at least 3.0
• Complete the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) anti-bullying workshop.  The DASA workshop is required for all students in a NYS certiifcation program at the School of Education. The workshop requires six clock hours of coursework or training.